CemAir

CemAir (Pty) Ltd is a privately owned airline operating in South Africa which services popular tourist destinations and important business towns and leases aircraft to other airlines across Africa and the Middle East. The airline is based in Johannesburg. It was forced by the authorities to suspend operations in late 2018.[2] The airline successfully launched a High Court challenge and the grounding was overturned. The CAA then again grounded the Airline in January 2019 and CemAir challenged the decision before the Civil Aviation Appeal Committee. On the 29th of April 2019 the CAAC issued a judgement in favour of the airline calling the CAA's actions "irrational, arbitrary, unreasonable and procedurally unfair." and "factually wrong."[3]

CemAir
IATA ICAO Callsign
5Z KEM CEMAIR
Founded2005
HubsOR Tambo International Airport
Frequent-flyer programSKYREWARDS
Fleet size23
HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
Key peopleMiles van der Molen (CEO)[1]
Websitecemair.co.za

History

The company was formed in 2005[4] with the purpose of operating turboprop commuter aircraft, the initial fleet consisted of 1 Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft and 3 Beechcraft 1900C aircraft.

In January 2018, the South African Civil Aviation Authority withdrew the Certificate of Airworthiness for 12 of the airline's aircraft due to allegedly unqualified personnel certifying the aircraft as airworthy.[5]

In December 2018, the airline was grounded until further notice by the South African aviation authorities stating safety reasons.[2][6] The decision was challenged and the CAA decision was overturned by the Civil Aviation Appeal Committee.

In January 2021, CemAir has signed an interline agreement with Ethiopian Airlines.[7]

Corporate affairs

Head office

CemAir's head office and engineering and maintenance facility are located in Hangar 6 OR Tambo International Airport,[8] 25 km north-east of Johannesburg. The fully equipped Flight Operations Control Centre is housed within the Head office and operates between 05h00 - 20h00 during the week and as required at weekends. This facility is also the primary parts stores and logistics hub of the operation.

Maintenance

The maintenance arm of CemAir has been accredited by the South African Civil Aviation Authority with the necessary approval to include the maintenance of the Bombardier CRJ to be conducted along with the Dash 8 and Beechcraft 1900s at the OR Tambo base by the company's own technical staff. This facility has the capability to carry out maintenance up to the C-check on the CRJ and all maintenance inspections on the Dash 8 and Beech 1900 including the changing of all major components such as engines, propellors etc. Apart from specialised activities like painting or Non-Destructive Testing, all maintenance is carried out in-house. The company is a South African Part 121 (large aircraft operator) and Part 135 (small aircraft operator) company, holding South African Civil Aviation Authority issued AOCs (Air Operator Certificates) in both of these categories. The Air Service Licensing Council has issued the company with domestic and international licenses, for both scheduled and non-scheduled services. In addition, CemAir holds approval from the SACAA for a Part 145 AMO (Approved Maintenance Organisation), which allows it to operate its own maintenance department.

Destinations

Charter operations

Based at OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa, a large portion of the fleet is deployed outside of South Africa. The main foreign deployments are to Mali in West Africa and Gaborone, Botswana as well as Juba, South Sudan.

Scheduled destinations

Destinations served domestically include:

Fleet
CemAir Beechcraft 1900D
CemAir Bombardier CRJ200

As of January 2021 the CemAir fleet consists of the following aircraft:

CemAir Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Notes
Airbus A319-100 0 3 [9]
Beechcraft 1900C 1 -
Beechcraft 1900D 7 -
Bombardier CRJ-100 5 - ZS-CRJ operating for United Nations
Bombardier CRJ-200 2 -
Bombardier CRJ-900 1 -
Bombardier Dash 8-100 1 -
Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 2 -
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 2 -
Total 21 3

Accidents and incidents

CemAir suffered two hull losses in 2008 with aircraft leased out to 3rd parties, one in the Sudan and the other in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

References
  1. https://za.linkedin.com/in/miles-van-der-molen-b6076a38?trk=pub-pbmap%5B%5D
  2. "CemAir grounded over safety concerns". Independent Online.
  3. "Judgement" (PDF).
  4. Planespotters (28 February 2020). "Cemair Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  5. Kruger, Andreas (2019-10-26). "CemAir Could Relaunch South African Services After 9 Month Pause". Simple Flying. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  6. "CemAir flights still grounded after failed court bid". Fin24.
  7. https://www.businessinsider.co.za/ethiopian-airlines-oft-cited-as-a-possible-saa-saviour-just-did-a-local-deal-2021-1
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2016-07-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/companies-and-deals/cemair-goes-mainstream-grows-operations-by-50/
  10. "South Sudan declares three-day mourning for crash victims" Sudan Tribune 3 May 2008
  11. "'No survivors' in DR Congo crash" BBC News 2 September 2008
  12. Joe Bavier "Aid plane crashes in Congo, no sign of survivors" Reuters 2 September 2008
  13. Air Serv press release Archived 2008-09-04 at the Wayback Machine
  14. "Discussion about airplane crashed in Congo". 2008-09-02. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  15. "Aid plane with 17 on board crashes in eastern DR Congo" United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 2 September 2008
  16. "RDC: Un avion humanitaire de l'ONU avec 17 personnes à bord s'écrase dans l'est" (in French) United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 2 September 2008
  17. "Crash d’avion près de Bukavu, 17 morts" (in French) Radio Okapi, 2 September 2008
  18. "SA pilot killed in DRC crash" Archived 2008-09-08 at the Wayback Machine News24 2 September 2008
  19. "Crash au Kivu: les secours n'ont pas encore pu atteindre l'épave, selon l'ONU" (in French) 3 September 2008 Archived September 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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